Getting started

When used often, your PC's performance and reliability begin to decline, especially after you install new programs and software. Unless you clean your PC regularly, you may notice the following issues:

• Reduced performance
• Programs that crash or freeze
• Lack of disk space
• Popups from 'bloatware' programs

When you use Avast Cleanup Premium to scan for and resolve issues on your PC, you enhance your PC's performance, clear disk space, and eliminate unwanted programs and security risks.

Depending on which scan you run, Avast Cleanup Premium generally detects these major issues:

• Background & startup programs: programs and applications installed on your PC often come with background processes, Windows services, startup items, and scheduled tasks which run even when the corresponding program is closed. Avast Cleanup Premium scans for these programs so that you can put them to sleep and optimize your PC's performance.
• Unnecessary programs: programs which may have been pre-installed on your PC or installed unknowingly with other programs. Avast Cleanup Premium scans for and lists these programs with their corresponding rating so that you can decide which programs to uninstall.
• Windows registry issues: registry issues can result in program crashes and error messages. Avast Cleanup Premium scans for invalid startup entries, incorrect file type references, incorrect uninstaller entries, and missing fonts.
• Broken shortcuts: broken shortcuts occur when you uninstall a program but the shortcut remains. Avast Cleanup Premium scans for and removes leftover shortcuts on your desktop, in your start menu, and in a list of recently used applications.
• Tracking & other cookies: many browsers use tracking cookies to monitor your browsing tendencies and present relevant ads the next time you browse. Avast Cleanup Premium scans for and removes these files to protect your privacy and free up disk space.
• Windows, program, and cache files: Windows programs create logs and temporary files which are stored on your PC. Avast Cleanup Premium scans for and removes log, temporary, and cached files to free up disk space on your PC.

During a Speed up scan, Avast Cleanup Premium scans for Unnecessary programs installed on your PC. When you click the Unnecessary programs button after the scan, you can view a list of programs and their ratings (out of five stars). To determine a program's rating, Avast Cleanup Premium uses a cloud-based rating system based on blacklists and whitelists, heuristic algorithms, Avast's Recommendation Engine, and user ratings. This makes it easier for you to determine which programs you want to keep and which programs you want to remove.

The Maintenance option performs a comprehensive scan of your PC, which detects broken or redundant items in the system and tracks data stored on your disk drive (such as browser cache, cookies, and history). When the scan is complete, you can select which issues to resolve. Read more...

The Speed up option scans for Unnecessary programs and programs launched during system startup which are still running in the background. These programs may affect the speed and performance of your system. When the scan is complete, you can select which issues to resolve. Read more...

The Free up space option scans for leftover files created by the system, programs, or installers (such as temporary, log, and cached files, including browser data) which may be taking up large amounts of disk space on your PC. When the scan is complete, you can select which issues to resolve. Read more...

Fix problems scans for unusual system settings which may be affecting the reliability of your PC's behavior. When the scan is complete, you can select which issues to resolve. Read more...

Avast Cleanup Premium automatically notifies you when it identifies cleaning or optimization opportunities on your PC. Click Notifications (the bell icon) in the top-right corner of the interface to display a list of notifications and recommendations. Click Show next to a recommendation to resolve any issues.

You can specify which issues Avast Cleanup Premium notifies you about via ☰ Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Notifications. Read more...

If you are unsatisfied with changes made by Avast Cleanup Premium, you can go to the Rescue Center and undo changes made to the following components:

• Broken registry items
• Broken shortcuts
• Background & startup programs
• All components from the Fix problems scan

Click the rescue icon on the right-side panel of the main screen to access the Rescue Center, then click Undo next to the action you want to reverse. To specify which items you want Rescue Center to back up and for how long, go to ☰ Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Rescue Center. Read more...

To manage Avast Cleanup Premium settings, click ☰ Menu in the top-right corner of the interface and select Settings (the gear icon). You can manage the following settings:

• Your preferred language
• Issues you want to be notified about
• Backups for undoing changes made by Avast Cleanup Premium
• Troubleshooting options

Read more...

If you purchased Avast Cleanup Premium directly in the program or from the Avast Store, your license is activated automatically. Otherwise, you need to select ☰ Menu ▸ My licenses and manually activate the license via your Avast Account registered for the email address you used to make the purchase, or using your valid activation code from the order confirmation email. Read more...

Avast Cleanup Premium can be used for a trial period. After the trial period, you can purchase a license to continue using the program.

To activate a trial period or purchase a license, click Unlock All Features in the top-left corner of the main Avast Cleanup Premium screen and follow the on-screen instructions.

If you activated the auto-renewal service, your current license is automatically renewed upon expiration. You are notified in advance via email.

You can manage the auto-renewal option for your order by following the instructions in the relevant article according to the license distributor:

• Manage Avast orders invoiced by Digital River
• Manage Avast orders invoiced by Nexway

If you did not receive your purchased license, or if you experience issues with activating your license, you can request that your license be re-sent via our webform with the email address you used during purchase. Alternatively, retrieve a purchased license from your Avast Account registered to the same email address.

If Avast Cleanup Premium does not accept your activation code:

1. Use our webform or your Avast Account to re-send your license to the e-mail address used for your purchase, then activate the license again. Read more...
2. If the license activation fails, uninstall Avast Cleanup Premium and restart your PC.
3. Download and install the latest version of Avast Cleanup Premium.
4. Go to ☰ Menu ▸ My licenses in the Avast Cleanup Premium interface, and activate the license.

If these steps do not work, contact Avast Customer Support for further assistance.

Yes, you can continue to use your PC while Avast Cleanup Premium performs a scan.

Yes. If you are unsatisfied with changes made by one of the Avast Cleanup Premium scans, you can go to the Rescue Center and undo certain changes made by Avast Cleanup Premium.

No. At this time, Avast Cleanup Premium does not have a scheduling option. However, Avast Cleanup Premium notifications are enabled by default and automatically alert you when there are cleaning and optimization opportunities on your PC. To manage which issues Avast Cleanup Premium notifies you about, go to ☰ Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Notifications. Read more...